Radiant heat treating and apparatus therefor



' Aug. 1, 1944. J. BARBER 2,354,658

RADIANT HEAT TREATING AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed May 14, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Aug. 1, 1944.

l. J. BARBER RADIANT HEAT TREATING AND APPARATUS THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Shea 2 7 Filed May 14. 1941 Patented Aug. 1, 1944 UNI ED STATES PATENT OFFICE i Ira 1. Barber, Fostoria, Ohio, assignor to The Fostoria Pressed Steel Corporation, Fostoria, Ohio, a corporation of. Ohio Application May 14, 1941, Serial No. 393,362

1 Claim. (Cl. 219-34) This invention relates to object-enveloping rays from a radiant energy source.

This invention has utility when incorporated in the treatment of suspended articles or series of articles, more particularly articles approximating symmetrical cross-section in lineal reaches thereof, as rods, tubes, ribbons, tapes, wire, and the like, even to annealing metal objects, coating, or other treatment.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. i is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of an embodiment of the invention, wherein the lineally extending series of objects in parallel receives directrays and, as passing along troughs, have such rays supplemented with the reflected rays;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line IIII, Fig. l,

of treating device wherein the energy source, in-

stead of being of the bulb type as in Fig. 2, may be of the continuous or rod resistance type;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the energy source rod and its reflecting trough portion on the line VI-VI, Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line VII-VII, Fig. 4, showing the closed type of chamber as a source for rays in an enveloping tube;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic showing of relation between the energy source and the work or object treated; and

Fig. 9 is an additional diagrammatic showing how the energy source may act upon a plurality of reaches of elongated objects in transit.

,tent of treatment sought.

projected therefrom and herein referred to as primary." The ray projection as entering the trough reflector or re-reflector 1 and re-projected therefrom is herein referred to as secondary. The energy source I i acts upon the'reflectors II. The reflectors III are coated with gold plating 12 for projecting rays ll toward the trough 1. The troughs may be of appropriate configuration for even distribution of the direct rays I! about the objects 5. The 'rays I! may be of intensity and of duration to bring about the ex- In this treatment wherethere is a parabolic reflector, trough l4 may have the work at iocus IS. The particular parabola may be according to the character of work being handled, such as ribbon. It for parabola For instance, reflective rays It as concentrating at focus I! for ribbon l6, may answer one set of conditions. Suitable concave reflector i9 may be adopted for rays 20 toward lineally extending object 2|.

In further carrying out this invention, energy sources 22 (Fig. 3) may be in different types oi projectors 23, 24, 25, of the spheric zone, parabolic, or are types, with the direct rays l3 therefrom to complementary or opposing reflector it.

More specifically. say in the annealing of wire. strand or strands 21 (Fig. 4) may pass over roller 28 in bath 28 of a liquid in vessel 30, thence about roller 3|, to have a reach 32 enclosed by legs 33 of housing 34 in providing chamber 35. In this chamber 35 there may be upwardly extending ducts 36 providing reflective trough 31 in which 8, are reflectors III for energy sources ll, herein shown as infra-red-ray type with reflectors when the treatment .is to be of a heating nature. The equipment comprises sources l0, ll, having rays the reach 32 may extend in its ascent for receiv-' ing direct rays as toward the trough 31, and indirect rays as impinging on the object as concentrated by the trough. This trough portion 31 is connected by ellipticalor other portion 38 with complementary trough portion 39 in which is located energy source 40 having electric lead 4! and lead 42 therefrom. This energy source if of the heat type may be a resistance such as Calrod" or Globar." These energy source heat resistances may have contribution to their efficiency herein by further controlling the atmosphere or vapor for enveloping the reach 32 as undergoing the ray treatment. In such instance valves 43, 44 may control the ingress and egress of vapor, or operate for maintenance of vapor uniformity according to the annealing or other treatment sought, whether such vapor be steam or ammonia, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, or other elected gas, or even inert medium.

' The treatment may be completed in this ascent, or the reach 32 may pass about roller 45 in the housing 34, thence about roller 46 to down reach 41 in tubular treating chamber 48 for further treatment, and thence to a bath 48 in exit from the chamber about rollers 49, 50, to take-0t! portion 5| as assembled therefrom in lengths or on spools, or in any manner for shipment or storage. A tube 52 (Fi 5) rises from bath 5!. A rack 54 carries roller 55. An upward reach 56 in the tube 52 is parallel to ray energy source which has entrance terminal 51 and exit terminal ll.

The energy source 40 (Fig. 7) may have rays 60 efl'ective through region iii to concentrate on work region 32. Additionally rays 63 to reflective portion 38 may pass to region 31 to be reflected back as rays 61 to concentrate upon the work 32 on the remote or opposite portion therefrom acted upon by the direct or projected rays 60.

The reflective rays may be in proportion to be uniform upon the opposite side of the object being treated. The uniform enveloping temperature achieved with Calrod has been as high as 1800 F. with the object 18 to 24 inches away from the energy source and traveling at say 3 feet per second. With the Globar resistance, temperatures up to 3000 F. have been obtained.

A spheric zone reflector ll (Fig. 8) may concentrate on work ll. Energy source 10 may have reflective region II to focus on the work 00, and reflective portion II. An energy source II (Fig. 9) may project to reflector H for work 1! in the focus regions of troughs 10.

What is claimed and it is desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

Apparatus for heat-treating elongated objects comprising: a plurality of trough-shaped reflectors positioned substantially in side-by-side relationship, so as to form a bank of reflectors, and facing in the same general direction; radiantheater means opposite the open faces 0! the trough-shaped reflectors; reflector means associated with said radiant-heater means and constructed and arranged to distribute substantially evenly, and to direct generally perpendicularly, to all portions of said bank, the radiations from said radiant-heater means, and means for supporting the elongated objects to be heated to lie along and in the zones to which the radiations are focused by said trough-shaped reflectors.

IRA J. BARBER. 

